The UK government appeared to have reached a compromise last month, regarding the proposed tunnel to hide the A303 highway from Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, by opting for a US$288.6M, 2.1km bored tunnel.
The apparent options were a 2km cut and cover tunnel, which would be cheaper but arguably more disruptive to the environment, and a 4km long bored tunnel.
The contract was originally priced by the client, The Highways agency, as a cut and cover tunnel, and the government had reportedly rejected any other method on cost grounds.
However, some critics of using the cut and cover method at this site, including the UK’s conservation organisation, The National Trust, continued to press for a design that would involve a US$637M, 4km bored tunnel.
Last month’s decision was hesitantly welcomed by the Trust, which said that cut and cover would be “too damaging for this precious landscape”. But it still wants to see “the longest achievable tunnel past Stonehenge” and “will be considering all the available evidence to assess why the government believes that a 2.1km tunnel meets that description.”
A joint venture between UK contractors Balfour Beatty and Costain has been involved under the Early Contractor Involvement scheme.
Regardless of the method, construction should start in 2005, with the road opening in 2008.
